"You're right about Adam. You can't avoid a werewolf pregnancy with conventional pills, but they have the medication for it. Caricature takes me to the hospital for an injection every month. I always remind him of this commitment. But it's different with Max. You don't really know if he was ready to be a father."
"He already had a son, Kate."
"Yes. But still, if you didn't plan ahead for these children, it wasn't honest."
Anna took a deep breath so as not to snap at Kate.
"You said there were two reasons for not getting pregnant."
"The second is that... I don't want to put more monsters into the world."
Anna looked grim.
"You can teach them not to be monsters."
"Like you did with Ian? Who gave a death sentence to a boy and agreed to Alexander's death? You've got to be kidding!"
"Max and I have given Ian a moral and ethical education. When he's influenced only by Max, he'll return to being the kind child I want him to be."
"I hope your plans to return to him are not thwarted. I lived with Adam during the time you were gone. He developed an obsession with you. He's not a man who's suffered rejection before. He's not going to let you go."
"I need to get out of this mansion after I've finished with Sarah. I have something to sort out in my family. Will you help me?"
"Are you crazy? I don't want to give Adam a reason to kill me, now that I've found meaning in my life. Now that I've discovered that there is happiness beyond sex."
"Without your help it will be impossible." Anna said thoughtfully.
"Hypothetically speaking... What would I have to do?"
"Go with me."
"Go where your family is? Anna, eat something, you're already starving."
"Adam won't let me go without you."
"Adam won't let you go at all. Don't kid yourself."
"Yes, he will. But he'll want to make sure I don't have sex with Max that day."
"You're crazy. You should be in a mental institution. What are you going to do to get him to let you go there?"
"I found out something about him and the men in his family." Anna said, and recounted everything Max had explained to her about the psychosis that afflicts them.
Kate laughed amusedly.
"That's enlightening... That's why Bonnie wasn't treated the way he treated you... That's why the green house was needed..."
"Yes. Bonnie is Adam's Camille. I always knew he needed her, and I didn't understand this certainty in my heart. Now I do. But she can't be a full-time part of his life. It has to be something he only uses when it suits him."
"And what are you going to do with Camille?"
"I don't know yet. It's Tayme who worries me."
"Are you going to allow Camille to stay with her husband? You're very understanding." Kate said mockingly.
"There are evils that are necessary, and they can be beneficial."
"So Ian will be as virile as his father when he grows up... Now I can understand Genevieve." Kate said, running her tongue across her lips. "I'll provide a girl to be Ian's Camille."
"Don't joke about it, Kate. It's not funny."
"Yes, Anna. It is funny, yes."
Anna opened her mouth to reply when she heard cars parking in front of the mansion.
Adam finally arrived home. He was dirty and sweaty, but not tired. His face was hard, but Anna could see the excitement in his eyes. But she misunderstood what she saw shining in his eyes.
Adam didn't want to talk to anyone, or eat dinner. Without looking at anyone specifically, he said they should eat without him present, and went to his room and locked himself in. Anna also noticed that there was blood on his clothes, but it obviously wasn't his, and she imagined it was from one of his men or his enemies. She thought about going to him, but didn't know what to say. He didn't look at her at any time, as if he had forgotten she existed. As if she were part of the furniture in the house.
Kate got up and followed Caricature, who had a sad look on his sullen face. Something very bad must have happened. Why didn't they say anything? Wasn't it enough that they were anxious when they didn't come home?
Anna was furious, and went to her room, put on one of her pyjamas, and determinedly entered Adam's room without knocking. She could hear the noise of the shower, and lay down on the bed, waiting for him. As soon as Adam came out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist, and saw her, he lay down next to her and hugged her. He stared at the ceiling, tears streaming down his face. Anna felt her heart break. An Alfa, a proud mafia boss, crying? She didn't want to ask, as he seemed comforted by the silence. Anna snuggled closer to him, and after he fell asleep, she thought about closing her eyes for a while and then going to her own room, but ended up falling asleep, too.
When Anna opened her eyes again, the sun had already risen. She stretched and bumped into a warm, muscular body next to her. Then she remembered that she was in Adam's room. She looked up at him, and he had his arms folded behind his head, staring at her with a look she couldn't quite identify.
"Good morning, Anna... How was your father's visit?" Adam asked, looking as if he just wanted to break the silence, but he was attentive to Anna's reactions.
"He told me about the kidnapping."
"I asked him to do it if he thought he should."
"You can't imagine how contradictory my feelings towards you were when you made me believe that my family was exposed to danger..."
"Contrary to what everyone thinks, I take the value of family very seriously, my parents weren't wrong to run away from me, but everything I did was for their safety."
"You threatened your whole family, Adam! You sent videos of your torture to serve as a threat."